A challenge to you, Farkas, to make a book or two out of only the Core cards. Play against others using the full array of expansions. See how you go.

I personally think that a Core-only book could still be competitive, at least for the basic 4 mages. Most of the new spells that have come in over the years are really designed for specific mages or are really just variations on established themes.

I see where you are going with Incorporeal and Defences, but it is still also true that most ethereal and unavoidable attacks are still once-offs. Not many creatures have them in-built. So if you are going down the Incorporeal route, take it all the way and see your opponent run out of options. Ditto the unavoidables.

The two major changes I would make to core cards are these:

Gate to Hell. Initial casting cost reduced to 7 (to match equivalents like Rajan's Fury). Still 12 mana to open it, but from then on it becomes a spawnpoint for demons only, and generates 1 mana per turn.

All spawnpoints (Core or expansion, so getting a little off topic) should become unique rather than epic, but become full actions to cast (with the possible exception of the Crusade Banner). If you build a book around a spawnpoint your entire strategy can be (and often is) blown away (literally) in a couple of turns by Force Hammers. With very limited means to repair conjurations, it seems fair that you could have more than one spawnpoint in your book. But it should be an investment to put them out.

I have not found that the flyers are less useful now than they were. I always found them a little weak. Guards take care of them nicely without the need for knockdowns and the like.

Core cards I have never ever seen played by me or an opponent in 5 years of playing are few:

Mountain Gorilla (tho I have put it in a few books it has never come out)
Moonglow Faerie
Retaliate
Turn to Stone

Some others are rarely seen, but still useful in the right spot (I have won at least two games by a perfectly timed Drain Power, for instance)


(One last off topic thought: I have fallen in love with the dissipate tokens on the Force creatures, and reckon that if there was ever a Mage Wars arena second edition, all creatures other than familiars should have dissipate. It is supposed to be a duel of magic, after all, and not the race to build armies as it often turns into. And fluff wise, summoning creatures is almost always a temporary thing in the literature. But that is a debate for another time and place.)     

Quote from: Kaarin on August 22, 2018, 12:43:36 PM

Quote from: Arkdeniz on August 22, 2018, 02:58:30 AM

Quote from: isel on August 22, 2018, 01:47:28 AM

Are those all spoilers? i miss a familiar for druid and elementalist.

The Druid has Vine Trees, Seedling Pods, Samara Trees...

She does not need a familiar.

The Elementalist, well, let us see how it goes. It might not work well with one.

Druid also has Fellela.

Fellela its nature mage, not only druid, i was asking for a familiar that could help to summon plant/vine spells, not only enchantments.


Beastmaster academy got one, Why not druid academy? Felella it´s too expensive for my taste.

Tournament report will be forthcoming. Top 4 are:
Coshade-Priestess
Jimillia-Necromancer
Farkas-Straywood Beast Master
VictorE-Wizard

Terrifying visage is effing nasty. That's gonna be broke as fuck if it doesnt have a hefty reveal or some kind of detriment.

We can debate the pros and cons of the Paladin later. Suffice to say I don't see Ballista as being the end all be all.